The good side of immunity
Patty S. Overton was a celebrity for two reasons. One was her famous song “Baby Baby Baby Build a Bookshelf, Uh Huh,” and the second was her recipe for Radishes Marmalade del Clifty. Never mind that marmalade usually refers to fruity rather than rooty preserves. Patty S. often expanded the meanings of words to suit her fancy, and her focus in life was not lexicology but preventing and treating sniffles, mucus dilemmas and health inconveniences in general.
Patty S. had a dim view of the situation in which somehow the law could be upended to grant immunity and protection to dumbass criminals. However, make yourself comfortable if the subject arises, and it will in her presence, regarding the marvelously complex immune system in human bodies. “All the parts unite, not untie,” she would say, “each in its own way to keep our bodies healthy and immune from malevolent agendas. Eat your garlic and Brussels sprouts.”
What Patty S. was referring to was the tag team inside us of white blood cells, the spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils, busy little antibodies, skin cells, proteins called cytokines and even our mucus, which together identify harmful cells that don’t belong, and take action to neutralize them. They send messages to each other, and they need passwords.
White blood cells in bone marrow – ever alert on our behalf – produce antibodies when they encounter viruses and evil bad bacteria. I have trouble remembering to floss, but a healthy immune system is always on alert and leads to a happy, bouncy, spirited body.
“We’re approaching the season when sniffly, coughy people will be everywhere,” Patty S. says, “so keep your immune system game-time ready. What you eat matters.” Nutritionists who eat kale chips at 10 a.m. claim a steady diet of vegetables boosts your immunity. Leafy green vegetables are packed with vitamins A, C and K, but purple, yellow, orange and red vegetables are especially loaded with antioxidants, and that’s a good thing. Beets, carrots of all colors, tomatoes and peppers make Patty S. a happy evangelist.
Kale is regularly touted as the most nutrient-dense vegetable because (somebody measured) one cup of kale contains almost seven times the RDA of vitamin K plus a full dose of vitamins A and C. However, watercress – in the same family as kale – scores highest on the nutrient density score which is a ratio of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants per calorie per gram. Patty S. and I figure either one is a good choice at dinner time, and Asian greens, beets and chard also score well.
Consuming garlic also boosts the power of your immune system because it contains allicin, an antibiotic which fights bacteria and viruses, plus it combines favorably with other antibiotics. They unite; they do not untie. Polysaccharides in garlic join with white blood cells to fight infections. Yippee!
Radishes, the subject of Patty S.’s famous marmalade, is a humble root which also boosts our immune activity because it has vitamins in there that stand up to infections. Really. Radishes do that. So can echinacea, a member of the daisy family which, like garlic, contains polysaccharides and other members of the choir that help harmonize your immune system.
Are you familiar with astragalus? I’m not, yet resources claim there are more than 2000 species. Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine have recommended it since forever. Maybe Confucius used it. It’s in the Top Ten of the most potent plant influencers on the immune system, and it also moderates extremes in stress levels. Sounds good so far, except some species are toxic. Bummer. You can buy powders, capsules or root pieces.
Same for ginseng, used medicinally for millennia in Asia. How did they know long ago ginseng not only increases the number of white blood cells but upgrades the overall immune response? Oregano, basil, cinnamon and turmeric are notable for boosting our immunity.
When Patty S. is not singing at the Rendezvous wearing her “Astragalus Among Us” T-shirt, she’ll be at a book club near you espousing the good side of immunity.
Eat your vegetables.